Levy Named National Coach Of The Year

CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina's Jenny Levy was named the 2013 National Coach of the Year by Inside Lacrosse, the magazine announced on Friday. The Tar Heel head coach led Carolina to its first women's lacrosse NCAA championship this spring, taking the award in Inside Lacrosse's Dani Awards, its annual postseason awards.

It's the first national coach-of-the-year honor in Levy's 18-year head coaching career in Chapel Hill. Carolina took home the NCAA championship in Villanova, Pa., in late May, posting wins over defending champion Northwestern in the semifinals and previously undefeated Maryland in the title game.

Inside Lacrosse's Danielle Bernstein was quick to praise Levy's staff, writing, "I think this should go to the whole team of coaches at North Carolina - Katrina Dowd's work with the offense and Phil Barnes' work with the defense was exceptional."

The writer continued, praising Levy while writing about a conversation she had with the Tar Heel coach after the national championship game, "I'm paraphrasing, but she said that while she's responsible for some big-picture sort of things, she essentially puts full trust and responsibility in the hands of her assistants, that she doesn't have an ego - and it's essentially this philosophy that has proved successful.

"I think there's a lot to be said for a coach who brings in a top-notch staff and can take input and ideas and use it for the overall betterment of the team. And that's why Jenny Levy is the 2013 Coach of the Year."